November 2010
19 posts
“More than one person, doubtless like me, writes in order to have no face.”
– Michel Foucault
“At every moment, step by step, one must confront what one is thinking and saying...”
– Michel Foucault, quoted in The Foucault Reader, ed. Paul Rabinow
Is the American Dream Over? →
Dense article from Spiegel about the future of American hegemony.
I’m not sure I agree with the predictions.
L’armée en glamour →
An interesting interview with a young French analyst who worked with Bernard Madoff.
Congrats Cornell! →
Cornell has raised $3 billion dollars since 2006. Nice job!
Boglehead Discussion of the Day: International... →
International REITs are a somewhat new asset class for average investors. Vanguard recently introduced a new fund and ETF called the Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate Index Fund. Previously, there was the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio, which is only open to investors who have DFA advisors who charge typically 0.5-1% of assets under management. There are also ETFs from State...
The Humanist Speaks →
After watching Godard’s Sauve qui peut and watching again Vivre sa vie, Truffaut’s filmmaking and speech is so refreshing and life-affirming.
21st Century Humanities →
For my senior thesis at Cornell University, I wrote about Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Purloined Letter,” a detective fiction. The remarkable point of the story is that the detective uses rational and irrational methods to find the culprit. The detective Dupin is both a mathematician and a magician. This dual structure created a small controversy when Jacques Lacan wrote an essay with...
Social Layer
Why would any web property lease their social layer to Facebook? Does the traffic justify losing control of communication?
James Blackshaw
The previous clip was from the James Blackshaw concert at Littlefield. He’s a fantastic musician. First, he’s incredibly passionate and humble. And second, it’s original and personal. It’s rare to hear music that has drone qualities, but also very lyrical, cinematic, and harmonious sections. The music comes in waves. Then it comes with an attack.
Listen
A Tribute to Villa-Lobos
Project 2
1) Problem: Facebook, Twitter, and email does not solve the contact management problem.
2) Problem: It’s awkward to decide which contact method to give out. I was at a college meetup, and I met someone new, but I doubt I will ever become friends with him. I want to keep in touch once in a while, but I don’t want to share everything with him on facebook, and I certainly don’t...
